Lucabunny comes back quickly to score at 25-1 in Malvern Rose

Lucabunny, wheeling back just six days after winning her maiden sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs, pulled off a huge upset going a mile in Sunday night’s $100,000 Malvern Rose Stakes for Pennsylvania-bred 3-year-old fillies at Presque Isle Downs.

Trainer Nick Caruso said he felt the race flow in the Malvern Rose would favor a horse like Lucabunny, who comes from off the pace.

“There was a lot of speed in the race,” Caruso said. “She came out of the last race in good shape and we thought this was a shot for us in a stakes.”

Ridden by Willie Martinez, Lucabunny ($53) overtook another longshot, 20-1 Hey Monba, in deep stretch to score by three-quarters of a length in 1:38.64. A $2 exacta with the two longshots was worth $684.

War Baby, part of an uncoupled entry for trainer Jonathan Sheppard, finished third, 2 1/4 lengths behind the runner-up, at 15-1 odds.

A daughter of Silver Train owned by Tuozo Racing, Lucabunny was seventh through the first six furlongs, with 3-1 second choice Disco Rose in front by a length in 1:11.91. Hey Monba, third in her two-turn debut on July 13, moved a half-length in front of a tiring Disco Rose at the eighth pole, but Lucabunny, despite lugging in during the final sixteenth of a mile, finished strongly enough to reach the wire first.

Behrnik’s Bank, the even-money favorite, dueled up front for a half-mile, dropped back to last and was eased. Disco Rose wound up fourth, three-quarters of a length behind War Baby and a head in front of Lakota.